Hot Topics:

The ROTC past, present and future

Deming Headlight

Posted:
02/18/2014 11:37:02 AM MST

Rossi

The ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps) has a long and distinguished history in this country.

Originally established in 1916, it was a means by which college students could receive advanced military training while completing their college degrees. Today, the ROTC is gaining in popularity, however, it is not without numerous setbacks in its long history.

The concept of military instruction in universities has its roots as far back as the American Revolution and first appeared on the Yale University campus. When Yale students heard about the battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, a company of student volunteers began drilling on the Connecticut campus. These students went on to engage British troops when they landed in West Haven on July 4, 1779.

In the early 1800's, the founder of the University of Virginia and former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, went so far as to require all students at UV to have military instruction. By 1840, both Indiana University and University of Tennessee added military training as a requirement for graduating.

Military training on campuses of higher learning further expanded when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act in 1862 which granted each state 30,000 acres of public land to establish institutions, which included military training. By the end of the 19th century, 105 college campuses across the country offered military training as part of their curriculum.

Advertisement

In 1914, on the eve of the U.S.'s entry into WWI, an early form of the ROTC, known as the Preparedness Movement, was organized with the idea that a national service program should be instituted to train 18-year-old men in military tactics before assigning them to reserve units. The National Defense Act of 1916 ultimately merged the National Guard, Army Reserve and regular Army into the Army of the United States. Officers came from colleges and universities, where they received their military training under the supervision of the new institution: ROTC. When the U.S. did enter WWI, we already had 90,000 ROTC-trained officers in our reserve pool. By 1922, more than 57,000 students were in the Army ROTC (AROTC) programs.

Between WWI and WWII, 80 percent of reserve officers had completed ROTC training at over 220 colleges and universities across the country. More than 100,000 ROTC officers eventually served by the war's end.

By 1955, there were ROTC programs on 313 campuses in all 50 states. During the Korean War, about 80 percent of graduating ROTC cadets became active-duty officers. However, following the war, the number of new recruits dropped dramatically which urged Congress in 1964, to pass an updated ROTC Vitalization Act. The Act was designed to have the ROTC as the primary source of active-duty officers for all military services. To assist in the success of this act, scholarship programs were instituted, stipends were increased and their numbers increased.

The ROTC faced its most difficult challenge from 1960 -1980. Following our involvement in Viet Nam and an increasingly hostile environment on most campuses, ROTC programs were either scaled back or completely closed by 1969. This downward trend continued up to the 1980's when the number of female and clack ROTC cadets brought new vitality to the program. Recently, Yale University officially reopened its doors to the ROTC program after a 40 year absence. Many universities are following suit.

Today, the ROTC is slowly returning to its place of importance. As past Secretary of State, Robert Gates stated, "If America's best and brightest young people will not step forward, who then can we count on to protect and sustain the greatness of this country in the 21st century?"